Something Different
by Gazimu
Summary: Random One Shots of People Meeting Demigods. Just something for me to write out of my own amusement! I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus or any of the content and characters featured in either series, Rick Riordan does.
1. To the Ballgame

**Angie**

I made my way down the aisle, pushing through throngs of fans. Of course my friends had gotten us tickets to a Yankees game that was against the Red Sox. The stadium was packed, seemingly beyond its capacity. I adjusted my shirt after brushing past some middle aged guy with hair that looked suspiciously like a wig, failing to notice the teenaged boy directly in my path.

We bumped shoulders, and I nearly lost my balance and fell into the lap of the guy in the seat behind me, but the boy I'd ran into turned with surprising speed and caught me, his eyes wide.

"You okay?" he asked, at least seeming somewhat concerned. It was a new feeling, having someone wondering if you're okay when you run into them. I mean, usually people yelled at you.

I steadied myself, lightly gripping the boy's arm, thankful for him not letting me take a dive.

I looked up at him, smiling politely, "Yea, thanks for catching me." I said. He shrugged, smirking. "I wouldn't want the guy you were gonna land on to freak out if you ended up crushing his hot dogs." I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the comment, glancing back at the person behind me.

"You here alone?" he caught me off guard with his question, but I shook my head, "Bunch of friends are here, just have to find them. You?" he smirked, smacking the guy behind him on the shoulder.

The other boy turned, scowling, and I realized they were almost identical.

The first guy grinned. "I'm with my brother here and some of our friends. We're pranking one of them right now, too."

"Oh damn," the second brother said, turning his attention to some seats near where we were standing, "Here she comes."

The first guy grinned wickedly and turned to watch whatever they had planned for this friend unfold. I decided to join in, because it could be amusing, and I had nothing better to do.

"Angie, by the way." I said, smiling.

The boy who'd caught me didn't turn, but the corners of his lips twitched, "Connor, my brother is Travis." Travis waved, "Howdy." They were both wearing mischievous grins that made me worry for whoever this prank was on. I followed their gaze to a girl heading into an empty section of seats, she had curly blonde hair and was wearing a grey blouse with black jeans. She paused at one seat, frowning and turning to sit, and I heard Connor and Travis suck in a breath.

Okay, booby trapped seat? Wonder what it does.

Then, the girl stopped, moved to the next seat, and sat down cautiously. Both brothers let their heads fall into their hands.

"Damnit." Travis said, Connor huffing exasperatedly. "How does she always outdo us?"

I chuckled softly, wondering from their defeated tones if this girl had messed up their pranks on her before. Both of them turned to me, possibly to get angry with me for laughing at them, but another voice jumped into conversation. "Maybe because she's Annabeth."

I turned to see where the voice came from, not seeing the two boys beside me pale at the sound of the voice, making it obvious they recognized it. The guy standing before us was tall, probably pretty strong, and good looking. I realized I knew him though, or at least I'd seen him before.

Percy Jackson, fellow school mate at Goode High.

He smirked at the two boys, "So, anything you guys want to tell me?" I saw Connor glance back over to where the girl, Annabeth apparently, was sitting, and looked over myself to see her staring back at Connor and Travis, grinning smugly.

Travis groaned, turning back to Percy, "No, nothing, let's go to our seats and enjoy the game."

Percy turned his gaze on me, an eyebrow raised. I knew what it meant, he wanted the truth.

I shrugged, not really concerned for the wellbeing of the brothers. It'd probably be more entertaining if I sold them out anyways.

"They booby trapped at least one of the seats for the girl down there." I said, pointing to the blonde girl, Annabeth.

He grinned crookedly, "Thanks Angie." And I almost coughed, wondering how he knew my name when we'd never talked. I was a so called nerd and he was more of a jock and popular, not that he seemed to particularly care about his status, most days.

He seemed to notice my confusion and smiled, "I like to know people's names." He said, "Besides, I knew yours mostly because whenever I see you I think that you'd get along great with my girlfriend."

My eyes widened marginally, because he'd never mentioned a girlfriend before, as far as I knew.

Once again, he seemed to pick up on my train of thought, despite coming off as slow in class.

"I don't tell anyone at school about her because they never believe she's real. It's easier." He shrugged.

I nodded, "What's she like?" Percy chuckled in response as he slung his arms around the two brothers, Travis and Connor, his hands gripping their shoulders firmly. "Well, she's in her seat waiting for me to bring these two down so she can kill them, why don't you come find out?"

I looked down at the blonde girl, making the connection. As much as I wanted to meet her right now, what with all I'd seen of her and Percy talking about her all happily and dreamy like, I knew my friends were waiting and the game was about to start.

"Maybe another time? I don't want my friends to think I got mugged in the bathrooms or something." I said, smiling faintly, "I'll be sure to keep a watch to see her beat these two up though, it sounds like an event I'd pay money to watch."

Percy smirked, tugging the two boys along as he looked at me over his shoulder, "I'll make sure she knows not to disappoint. See you at school!" I waved at him, smiling a little, and then headed down the steps to find my friends.

Thinking about Percy, Travis, Connor and even Annabeth, I sighed, there was something different about them, it was strange, but it just made them really interesting.

With that thought, I took my seat next to all of my friends, waiting for the game to start and watching a certain girl berating two identical guys with amusement.


	2. Summer Night Part 1

**A/N: Got inspired to write this one after listening to the song Summer Nights by Rascal Flatts. Just seemed like an interesting environment to put some demigods in, so much so that it's going to be a two-parter :P**

**Brayden**

"Finally!" my friend Ian shouted, practically diving out the door of my car and onto the pavement.

Sighing contentedly in agreement with his proclamation, I turned off the engine and stepped out of the car as well, stretching and looking over the venue in front of us. "This is gonna be good" I said, grinning.

We were overlooking a sandy beach that had a big bonfire going, as well as a truck with speakers in the back playing music. A few kids in our grade had rented the beach out for the night and were hosting a big party for all of us seniors who had graduated, and anyone else who the senior class brought along.

Probably one of the biggest buzzes was the fact that Percy Jackson had said he would come when invited, and anyone at Goode who was familiar with Percy Jackson knew he had always turned down invitations to pretty much anything. Supposedly he'd been convinced to go by Angie, who he'd started talking to more often a few months into the year.

Ian shook me out of my thoughts, literally, "Come on dude, it's time to party, I see beer and girls in bikinis!" he ran off towards the fire, laughing manically and no doubt scaring off any girl he wanted to flirt with in the process.

I headed over to the fire to find some of our other friends, and eventually Ian settled down enough to take a seat by the fire, handing me a bottle of beer. I wasn't a big fan of alcohol, but it helped settle me down from the anticipation jitters, or whatever.

Ian had been right though, there was a lot of beer around, and lots of girls in their swimsuits, or short shorts and t-shirts. Most guys had shirts and their swimshorts, like I did.

"Aren't you glad this is a beach party?" I asked, smirking at Ian. He nodded, stamping his foot along with the music.

After a while, I got up and took a walk around the beach, until I reached the makeshift bar that had been set up, someone had brought a tall table and some bar stools, and the people hosting the party must have been rich, because they'd put a bunch of coolers with alcohol and other drinks behind it and gotten someone to serve them.

There was a girl sitting at the bar on one of the stools wearing torn jean shorts and a big t-shirt that hung loosely over her, only covering one shoulder. She was extremely attractive, but I was more so confused because I didn't recognize her at all, and I was pretty familiar with our grade.

I sat beside her cautiously, "Hey there."

She glanced over at me with continuously changing eyes, "Uh, hi." Well, not very social huh?

"So do you go to Goode? I don't recognize you" I supplied, trying to at least have a conversation out of this, I'd started talking, it'd be embarrassing to get turned down for even a simple conversation with someone.

"No, I came here with a few other friends, one of them just graduated from Goode, the rest of us don't" she said, I went to say something else, but she turned to face me with an intense, not so kind stare, "Look, if you're going to try and flirt with me, try someone else, I'm taken." My eyes widened, "I wasn't going to flirt, you just seemed like you could use someone to talk to." Luckily I was being truthful, because I got the feeling this girl would know if I lied. As if deciding that I was indeed honest, she sighed, "I'm just waiting for my boyfriend to come back, Percy wanted to show him something." Her eyes widened marginally as if she'd made a mistake, and I coughed a little, "You're friends with Percy Jackson?" I asked.

She raised an eyebrow now, "Is that a problem?" I shook my head, "No, just surprised, he doesn't talk to many people at Goode, so it's always been assumed he was a loner or something." I leaned against the bar a little, "Never did make sense though, the guy is hilarious in class, so there was no way I could believe he had no friends."

The girl laughed now, "Well, you're accurate in that assumption, he goes to a camp on most breaks and during the summer, he's probably the most popular person there. It's where he met me and the other people that came here with him." she smiled, a friendly smile that made you forget how hostile she had been a minute ago when she thought you were flirting with her. "Piper, by the way." She added.

I smiled back, "Brayden."

"Who are his other friends then?" I asked, looking about the crowd on the beach curiously.

"Well, the short Latino with curly hair who wears suspenders for no reason heading straight for us is Leo." She said, and I took notice of said person as they grinned widely, with arms open wide.

"Hey beauty queen! Who's your friend?" he asked, sliding onto the stool on the other side of Piper, who rolled her eyes.

"This is Brayden. Brayden, this is Leo Valdez, my best friend, and an idiot." I laughed and shook his hand, as he pretended to be insulted, "I won't take insults of that sort, Piper"

Piper cocked her head to the side, looking at Leo, "Have you been drinking?" Leo snorted, "Not a chance, I'm a lot of things but even I know that I'm way too ADHD to handle alcohol without a horrible result. It'd be even worse than letting Percy or the Stolls drink"

Piper snickered, glancing out at the fire, "Percy is drinking, Leo."

Seemingly affronted with a crisis, Leo popped out of his seat as if his chair had been on fire. "What? Why can he drink and not me!" he sounded like a child complaining, and the sight was entertaining.

Rolling her eyes, Piper pointed somewhere, "Annabeth won't let him get out of hand. You don't have a babysitter to keep you in check like he does."

I looked over where she was pointing to see Percy, who had a white shirt with green and blue swim shorts on. He was holding a beer in one hand with the other around a stunning blonde, the two were laughing and standing at the fire, talking with a few people, one of which I noticed was Angie.

"Babysitter my toolbox! They'll probably end up smooching as the tide washes over them."

I guessed that the blonde was Annabeth, and that she was dating Percy, which meant that Percy had a girlfriend he'd kept secret from Goode. Every new thing relating to him seemed to make him more mysterious and confusing, tonight.


	3. Summer Night Part 2

**A/N: Here is part two! Went through some indecision on what POV to do this one from, had some ideas for one from Brayden's friend, Ian, but ultimately decided to bring a new one in.**

**Jessica**

I walked along the beach, alone, as a slow song played. I could see all the people around the fire dancing together, couples and people just choosing to dance together, but I was a little bit away from all of that.

It wasn't that I was ugly or a bitch. I figured I was at least average with my looks and had an okay personality. Just, didn't have anyone to dance with. Most of my guy friends were taken, or nowhere in sight.

Some quiet giggles stopped me in my tracks. Just ahead of me, in the surf, was a couple dancing alone to the music. They were holding each other close, and the boy spun the girl around once before bringing her back in, the girl resting her head against his chest. She had only her shorts and swimsuit top on, and the boy was in his swim shorts. As he spun the girl, I saw his face and realized who it was.

Percy Jackson, and a girl who must have been the rumored girlfriend that Angie had told me about.

I realized that I could hear noises, and that it was Percy, quietly singing the lyrics to the song to his girlfriend. I smiled involuntarily, despite how jealous it made me feel of the girl getting such attention, because it was an adorable scene. I turned on my heels and headed back to the fire, feeling a little too cold to keep walking.

A guy with blonde hair seemed to have been watching the couple dancing on the beach as well, and noticed me, his blue eyes bright and amused. He caught up to me, chuckling softly.

"Makes you wish you had that, huh?" he said, and I wondered if maybe I was going to dance with someone after all.

"A little bit, especially when everyone else is dancing too." I said, rubbing my arms. He shrugged, "It's hard to be as comfortable with each other as Percy and Annabeth are together. They've pretty much been through everything together."

I quirked an eyebrow at him, and he read my mind, "I'm one of the people Percy invited, we're cousins."

I mouthed a silent 'oh' and turned my head to the sand. "You know, you don't have to sit around hoping a guy will ask you to dance." He said, making my face him again, curious as to what he had to say.

He paused to think his words over before saying, "If you want to dance with someone, just go ask, or hey, maybe something will happen and just give you the opportunity to ask. Fate works in mysterious ways."

I tried to process, "Soo, if a guy was giving me advice about asking someone to dance instead of waiting, does that mean he's too much of a baby to ask me himself?"

The boy laughed, as we reached the fire, just outside the cluster of dancing couples nearing the end of the slow song. "Sometimes, maybe, but not in this case." He clarified, disappointing me slightly, because he seemed genuinely nice. "Think more along the lines of someone you actually know, I'm just giving advice here." He said, before chipping in "Because I'm awesome"

I smiled slightly, "Even if I wanted to, the song is over." I said, almost on cue with the end of the song.

However, a second slow song began, the DJ announcing that it was one for anyone who'd missed their first chance. I turned to see the boy smirking at me. "Second chances are great."

I looked at him in bewilderment. "What are you, psychic or something?" This was seriously happening as if he knew what was going to occur at every moment.

He laughed, eyes looking through the crowd before locking on something. "No, I'm just a lousy boyfriend who knew he wouldn't find his girlfriend until the slow song ended, so I asked the DJ to play another after."

I turned and saw he'd locked eyes with a very pretty girl, who was heading through the throng of people towards us.

"Took you long enough Sparky" the girl teased as she reached us, leaning up to give the boy a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, I did what I could." He defended, weakly, before turning to me, "So, you better make the most of your newfound opportunity." He said in a lighthearted tone, "you're welcome, by the way." He winked.

The girl looked at me, "What, gonna ask a special someone to dance?" she said, smiling. I shook my head, cheeks turning pink anyways, "Not really, just got some advice from your boyfriend to just ask someone to dance and see what happens, but I have no idea who to ask." I confessed, feeling oddly comfortable talking about it with her, she just seemed like someone who took relationships seriously.

The girl glanced around the crowd and grinned, "Oh don't worry, I bet things will just bump right into place." She teased, smirking at me like she knew something I didn't.

"You'll see, anyways, I think you owe me a dance, Jason." The girl turned to the boy, now apparently named Jason, and he grinned sheepishly. "Let's go then, Pipes."

They headed into the swarm of people dancing, hand in hand, and I turned to walk away, still none the wiser about who to ask to dance, if anyone, and confused by the girl's words, _things will just bump right into place_, what does that mean?

Ironically enough, as I thought this, I bumped into someone and fell to the ground, my head bumping the sand lightly, though the beach was almost like a cushion.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry Jess!" a deep voice said urgently, and I felt someone's hands on my shoulders, lifting me up to a sitting position gently.

Opening my eyes, I recognized Ian, smiling apologetically as he held me steady. We had a few classes together, so I guess we were friends, but he usually acted stupid and shallow, even though he was polite in general. It was a confusing mix.

I smiled back, letting him know I wasn't angry, "its fine. I wasn't looking where I was walking." I said, pushing off the sand with one hand. Ian took my other hand in his and hauled me to my feet.

"Looked like you hit your head though" he said, glancing at my blonde hair as if he would see blood leaking through it from my skull.

"I didn't hit it hard, I'm fine, honestly." I muttered agitatedly, though secretly I was grateful to him for being so concerned.

He shrugged, his hand still up at my shoulder, brushing over it as if he thought I was going to collapse any second.

The sound of the song playing made its way to my head again, and Jason's girlfriend's words about things bumping into place rang in my brain loudly, as if everything was clicking now.

I glanced at the people dancing, seeing Jason among them, and then back at Ian.

"Do um, do you want to dance?" I asked quietly, looking up at him.

His eyes widened, "Geez, you really must have hit your head hard" he joked, but he held out a hand to me anyways. Smiling, I took it and he tugged me into a clear space surrounded by other dancing couples.

Ian put his hands on my waist and we started to dance, slowly. He smirked down at me, and I knew a joke was coming, "So, should I call the ambulance now, because there's no way that you would ask me to dance with you if you were in your right state of mind, Jess." I laughed, failing to contain a snort, and my face burned red with embarrassment, but Ian just chuckled.

"Maybe I just went on a spur of the moment thing" I said, before raising an eyebrow playfully, "Why? Would you rather not dance with me?"

He stuttered out a denial, turning a little pink himself, I just laughed, putting my head against his chest tentatively, hoping that he'd be okay with it. Jason's girlfriend, Pipes, Jason had called her, caught my eye, and she smirked at me, a knowing glint in her eyes. I just smiled back, mouthing the words 'you were right' to her.

I wasn't really sure what it was about her, or her boyfriend Jason, or even Percy and his girlfriend. However, they'd all played a part in making this night go from lonely to something akin to perfect.

They certainly were something different.


	4. A Grand Slam

**A/N: Was just bored at 2:30am for this one and figured that Jason would be pretty good at batting and pitching considering he can control the air around the ball. What the mortals don't know wont hurt them though :P**

**Warren**

_It was definitely a great day to play some baseball, _I thought as me and all of my buddies hauled our equipment bags to the baseball diamond beside our school.

Once we'd gotten ready, a small problem was noted.

"Uhh, Martin isn't here" someone pointed out, rather plainly. I sighed in annoyance and looked around for an explanation, but got none.

I then started looking and thinking for a solution. We needed one more person to play a fair game, even though we were only doing a few innings together. I mean, we all still had homework to do and dinner to be home for.

There was practically no one left at the school, but I noticed a tall figure with blonde hair standing near the parking lots with his hands in his pockets, and recognized him as Jason, a guy that was in my English and History classes. "Give me a sec, I got an idea" I muttered, pushing the bat I'd been holding into another of my friend's arms. I jogged across the field to Jason, greeting his curious expression with a timid smile. "Hey, uh, are you busy?" I asked, glancing back at my friends, who were all watching the exchange with amused expressions. Jason shrugged a little, "Waiting for my ride to get here so I can go home, but she said she might be late, why?" I drew in a small breath, "Me and my buddies were going to play a few innings of baseball, but one guy bailed on us, so we need someone to take his place."

Jason glanced at me, and then looked over at the baseball diamond warily, noticing all my friends watching. He then shrugged, "Sure, why not."

I grinned, and my face must've given him a kick, cause he smiled some too. "Awesome! You'll be on my team, with whatever spot you feel best playing." I said, turning and heading back to the diamond with Jason following. I fixed him with a scrutinizing stare, "You have played baseball before, right?" he just chuckled, "Yea, a few times." He responded, sounding a little mysterious, "I can play outfield, I like pitching, but I figure I'll leave that with someone you know better." He grinned a little, as if that wasn't his only reason to turn down pitcher. That just made me want to make him pitch.

I introduced Jason to the guys, some of them knew him from other classes anyways, so it wasn't too bad, and then we flipped a coin to decide who batted first, which ended up being us.

I grinned and sent Jason to bat first. "Might as well test you out right away" I told him, grinning. He rolled his eyes and grabbed a bat, walking to the plate with an eased expression.

One of my better friends in the group, Kyle, slid next to me on our bench, "I'm in his PE class and we did weight training last class man, if he can hit with the power of what he benched this will be interesting."

I snorted a little, "Anyone can lift a bar, it doesn't matter how hard he can swing if he can't hit the ball."

We turned our heads to watch as Jason lifted the bat and readied himself for the first pitch. I wondered if he felt any sort of pressure just from knowing all eyes were on him, the way he carried himself wouldn't suggest he felt nervous about judgement from others, but you could never really tell those things just looking at someone.

The pitch came, and Jason did my team a huge favor by connecting with the ball solidly, and sending it soaring past the outfielders and over the fence around the field. Every single one of us watched it bounce on the pavement on the other side in awe, while Jason calmly ran the bases, grinning widely.

He bounced down on home plate and then came over to the benches, earning half-hearted high fives from my team, as we still weren't sure the quiet kid Jason had gotten a home run on the first pitch his way, and hadn't put it at least fifteen feet past the fence before it hit the ground.

He ignored it all though, and waited for us to come back to our senses and return to the game.

Jason's spectacle didn't end there though, as he continued to show off without trying through the innings we played, even making a diving catch while he was in the outfield that left the guy who'd hit the ball sputtering curses on his way back to the bench.

When we were just getting near the end of our third inning, and we were out on the field, a blue prius pulled into the parking lots. They parked near the field and I made out the passenger and driver; a blonde haired girl and a black haired guy. Neither got out of the car though, another girl got out of the back seat, closing the car door and walking over to the field casually.

She had strangely cut brown hair, with one or two feathers tied on, it looked good on her, I'd admit, though if I saw the same style on any other girl I think I'd wonder what butcher they got their hair cut at. She had a pair of jeans on and a plaid shirt that looked a little big on her sitting loosely over a white tank top. Definitely a looker, and she had almost twenty teenage guys looking at her right now. Her eyes were focused on one thing though, and that happened to be our new resident superman of the baseball diamond, Jason.

He grinned at her and waved, and she rolled her eyes, but smiled a little. "Time to go Sparky" she said, amusedly. I frowned, knowing this was his ride, but there was still something I wanted to see him do.

"Hey Jason" I said before I could stop myself, "How about one pitch before you go, you said you preferred pitching" he grinned a little, as if relishing the chance, and then turned to the girl with a pleading expression, "Yea Pipes, can I throw one pitch? Please?" his childish tone made some of the guys snicker at him, but I figured he was dating this girl, so he probably didn't care if they laughed, he was dating a really hot girl and none of them were.

She glanced back at the car and then shrugged, focusing back on him. "Sure, why not. It'll give Percy and Annabeth more time to smooch in the car, not like we're in a rush" Jason laughed a little, then turned to me, putting out a hand wordlessly.

I got the message and tossed him the baseball.

Jason headed over to the pitcher's mound as the girl who I was assuming from now on was his girlfriend came over and took a seat on one of the benches.

Once the batter was ready, and by ready, I mean ready for a normal pitch from one of us, Jason got ready. I heard the girl laugh as she watched him and then shout "Go for a hard throw, Jason, we're leaving after anyways!"

Jason scoffed, as if he'd already had that in mind, and then threw a fastball that hit dead on with the catcher's glove and made him fall over backwards from the impact, because he definitely hadn't been waiting for that strong a throw. I looked over at the batter, and saw he hadn't even attempted to swing.

So conclusion, Jason was either secretly a major league baseball player, or he worked out or practiced pitching way more than was healthy for any human being.

None of us had a chance to ask, as Jason said goodbye, obviously holding back a smug grin, and walked to the Prius, holding hands with the brown haired girl. They got in the back and the car sped off without a second wasted.


	5. Moving in

**A/N: Slightly in future where some of the Seven decide to try attending regular College before resorting to New Rome's College.**

**Alyssa**

Lugging my suitcase around, along with a box full of smaller stuff like soap and shampoo, was definitely the worst part of beginning the College experience. I sighed in relief as I stopped at the dorm room with my assigned number, and pushed the door open. I dragged my luggage through the door lazily and turned to face the girl in the room, who had turned to face me with startling grey eyes, analyzing me.

"Hey" I said, smiling uncertainly, "You're my roommate?" she gave a small smile, but shook her head, "Nah, you're rooming with one of my friends. I was just helping her bring her stuff."

I nodded, looking around the dorm, "Is she…" the girl laughed and replied, "Yea, she's in the bathroom."

The girl then stuck out her hand, "Annabeth, by the way. Your roommate is Piper."

I shook it, glad that she seemed pretty nice. I hoped that would mean my roommate was the same. "Alyssa, glad I don't seem to be rooming with some rich bitch." I muttered.

Annabeth grinned, "Well, you're rooming with half of that" When I raised an eyebrow, she just shrugged, "Piper's not poor is all that I'll say, she doesn't like talking about it, so best not to ask."

I put on a humored smile, "Well, at least she's not a bitch then?"

Before Annabeth could respond, the bathroom door opened and the girl who would be my roommate stepped out, "Annabeth when is – "she stopped when she saw me, "Oh, hey, you must be my roomie?" she asked, and after I nodded smiled at me kindly, "I'm Piper." I smiled back right away, "Alyssa, nice to meet you."

I got the feeling Piper was going through the same relief I was, that her roommate seemed to be okay. Annabeth looked between us and grinned a little before addressing Piper, "So you were about to ask something?"

Piper stared at her blankly for a moment, then it seemed to click in her head, "Oh right, when is Percy getting here? I have one or two boxes that are too heavy and Jason is busy with his own dorm with Leo"

Annabeth laughed a little, as if surprised Piper had asked, "its Percy, how should I know when he'll show up? He said he'd be here five minutes ago and could show up in half an hour" she looked thoughtful, "Maybe more, I never put it past him."

"I'm glad you have so much faith in me, Wise Girl." A deep voice sounded from the door, making Annabeth smile and roll her eyes while turning to face its owner.

She put her hands on her hips, as if annoyed, "Well if you showed up on time for once, Seaweed Brain, maybe I would give you a little more credit."

The boy, who I would guess wasn't actually named Seaweed Brain – unless his parents really hated him – walked into the room and pecked Annabeth on the lips, lingering long enough for her the smile into it, and then pulled away, hands rested over hers. "I take whatever credit I can get." He said, grinning a little at her.

Piper cleared her throat, "So, before you two start to make out in my dorm room, Percy could you bring a few heavy boxes in here for me and then you two can go smooch at your apartment or whatever"

The two turned a little pink in the cheeks, but it seemed they were used to the jokes, and pretty comfortable with showing affection in public.

"Yea, no problem Piper" Annabeth's boyfriend, now dubbed as Percy responded, heading out of the dorm in a flash to get said boxes.

I looked at Annabeth's slightly pink face and smirked, "So, apartment huh?"

She gave me a small smile, "We didn't want to be in separate dorms, just ended up renting an apartment. Our parents helped out some, they owed us for a bunch of work we've done for them over the past few summers."

I nodded, not really interested in what boring work they might've done. Maybe internships or just a lot of helping around the house.

"Well that's cool, I just wonder how your parents feel about you two living in an apartment all alone" I winked at her, getting a giggle from Piper, who was watching the discussion.

Annabeth shrugged it off, "Percy's parents had no problems with it, his mom already sees me like a daughter. My mom… she's not exactly fond of him, because her and his dad have a stupid rivalry, but she's gotten better over the years. My dad was fine with it, too."

Piper grinned, "I bet she'll regret that every night when she knows you're cuddled up together on a bed." I saw Annabeth shudder a little, before saying, "I think that's one part she does understand."

Before I could say anything, Annabeth's smile returned to her face as if nothing had happened. Percy walked in with a few boxes and set them down at Piper's feet. "Heavy boxes, just as ordered." He said, grinning. Then he turned to me, with his green eyes that could only be described as vibrant, and smiled, "I'm Percy, by the way. Annabeth's boyfriend" he put out his hand casually, and I gave it a small shake, "I'm Pipers new roommate, Alyssa"

He grinned and leaned closer, "Never let her do your makeup, she'll go crazy and get really scary" he quickly backed away and hid behind Annabeth as Piper shouted in protest and tried to smack him.

Annabeth, who was stuck in the middle, tried to stop laughing before letting Percy tug her out of the room, using her as a shield against Piper as they said their goodbyes quickly.

I turned to Piper, "So…makeup huh?" she gave an exasperated sigh and glanced at me wearily, "Don't start with me."

Yea, this was going to be a fun semester.


	6. Random Act of Kindness

**A/N: Just thought this one up after a promotional video that had a similar thing to what happens with Leo. I figured he was someone who would do something like this, being who he is. It's fairly short, but I like it anyways.**

**Madeline **

Reading in the park had definitely not lost its appeal over the years. Despite how different I was now than when I was a kid, coming here with a book and reading for a few hours always seemed to clear my mind and refresh me.

Today, though I didn't know it yet, was going to be very refreshing indeed.

I had just set aside my book to take a sip of my coffee when I noticed a couple walking through the park. They must have been a fairly new couple, because the boy, who was on the skinny side with curly hair and a crooked smile, kept looking down at their hands together in awe, and the girl would smile knowingly every time she caught him doing it. Despite the boy's awkwardness, they were cute together, and the girl was extremely pretty, with her Cinnamon coloured hair.

As they got closer to me, the boy came to an abrupt halt, causing the girl to look over at him questioningly. "One sec, Sunshine! I'll be right back" the boy told her with an upbeat voice, grinning as he sauntered away. She watched him curiously, and I followed him with my eyes as well as the boy went over to a rugged looking man sitting in the grass in the park. He looked like he might be homeless, but I didn't pay enough attention to really know.

The boy knelt beside him and said a greeting, starting a conversation, and I heard an audible sigh come from beside me, turning to find the Cinnamon haired girl plop down on the other side of the bench I was sitting on, running a hand up and down her arm.

I decided to strike up a conversation, since she and the boy had caught my attention.

"Friendly guy?" I prompted, gesturing to her friend after she jumped a little, and turned to me.

She smiled weakly, in a nervous looking manner, "Yea, he's my boyfriend." She said quietly, "Likes to help out the homeless when he can, because he says he knows what it's like."

I raised an eyebrow, turning my eyes back on the boy, "Does he know what it's like?" I ask, intrigued.

"Leo had a tough childhood, is all I know, he hasn't told me everything yet, but he was in foster homes and didn't really like them."

I didn't turn away from 'Leo', but continued talking to her. I got the feeling she was watching him too. "So what's your name?" I asked her, watching intently as her boyfriend, Leo, reached into his pocket, fishing around for something.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her smile faintly, like she knew what Leo was doing. "Calypso, you?"

I smiled widely seeing Leo had taken out his wallet, and fished out a few bills. He handed them to the homeless man with a grin and a pat on the shoulder, and the man took them gratefully, before reaching forward to give the boy a hug. "Madeline." I said finally, "but I prefer just Maddie."

"And this is Leo" Calypso said, with mock enthusiasm, as her boyfriend scampered over to us with an everlasting grin.

"Miss me sunshine?" he asked, pecking her on the cheek quickly as she stood up and wrapping an arm around her waist reflexively. He then noticed me and raised his eyebrows slightly, "Hi there! I'm Leo, though I bet Calypso has already told you all about me because I'm so great." Said girl rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

"Yea, she failed to mention that you were hyped up on sugar though." I replied wryly. He just took it in stride, like a joke he'd heard tons of times before, though, it could easily have been something he'd heard before.

"Yea, I'm just a tiny bit ADHD and all. It might be hard to tell, since I'm so suave and sophisticated all the time." He smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Calypso patted his chest sympathetically, "Yea, like when you tripped yourself down the stairs of the Big House in a rush to get to your siblings two days ago. That was very sophisticated" she droned, laying it on thick with a poker face.

Leo must have missed the sarcasm, because he just took it as a compliment, "Why thank you." He said, before glancing at a watch on his arm that looked way too complicated for anyone's good. "Oh, we need to get back to Percy's apartment, otherwise we'll miss our ride back to camp!" he jumped into action and grabbed Calypso's hand, dragging her away. She waved to me and said goodbye, trying to keep her footing. I just laughed and waved back.

On my way home that day, I dropped a five dollar bill into the guitar case of a man playing in the subways. A few days later when I came back, the same man stopped me to say thank you, striking up a conversation about his four year old daughter who he was saving up money for the future of. When I got to the park, I soon noticed a man and recognized him as the one Leo had given some money to, but he was going into shops across the road with help wanted signs, holding papers with him that I assumed were a CV.

When the man came through the park, he stopped by a guy who looked around my age, sitting near where he had been sitting a few days ago in the same situation, and handed him a ten dollar bill with a smile.

All I could think was that Leo made that happen.


	7. Not your Average Day

**A/N: This one's gonna be a little bit different, but I was bored and it was in my head. It's nothing super original, but it's my spin on it.**

**Zoe**

Personally, I'd had some pretty rough days before.

This was on top of the list.

I'd been at home one moment, and in the next, I found myself in Lower Manhattan. Well, as best as I could guess. I did know New York fairly well, but still had to search around a few blocks to get myself oriented. I'd immediately started heading north, hopefully to a section of the city I would recognize better. I remembered that NYU was somewhere nearby, and I'd been to the campus before with my parents, taking a tour. I had wanted to see it and at least consider it, since mom and dad went there together.

By my guess, I was getting close to the Campus, and if I was lucky there would be some maps there so I could have some sure idea of where to go to get home, but I was distracted from my thoughts as I almost bumped into a couple that was walking the opposite direction. I just managed to swerve aside as they did, "Sorry!" the boy said, and I froze, because the voice was eerily familiar.

Turning, I almost cried in relief. "Dad!" I launched myself into his arms, so glad to see someone I knew that I hadn't realized he looked a lot younger than normal, like, my age, younger.

"Um…" he said, hesitant and confused, "I think you've got the wrong person."

He had his arms in the air, and I slowly backed away, looking at him. It dawned on me he did look a lot younger… and the girl beside him who was examining me with fierce grey eyes…

"But," I looked at them, trying to form the words. My mom – Or, the younger version of my mom – beat me to it, "You're almost the same age as him, how could he be your dad?"

"He looks, almost exactly like my dad, and you look like my mom." I exclaimed, now pointing at her. They both wore wary expressions now, and he asked "What's your dad's name, then?"

I groaned, "Percy Jackson, and if you aren't him, then where is he and why do you look like a younger version of - oh" I cut myself off midsentence, eyes flickering between their shocked faces.

"What… what year is it?" I asked quietly. The girl, who I was certain was my mother now, raised an eyebrow curiously, "2017…" she replied hesitantly, before asking, "What year did you think it was?"

I took a shocked step back, "I'm from 2039" they both sucked in breaths, and I took the moment to ask them, "You're Annabeth and Percy, right?"

They both nodded, and then Percy paled, "You called me dad, I'm - you're my kid from the future?" I nodded, looking down at my shoes for a second before glancing at my mom, Annabeth, "She's my mom, too."

I don't know what I was expecting as a reaction, but I'd looked back down at my shoes and didn't see young dad move forward, I just felt him wrap me in a crushing hug, just like the ones my regular aged dad gave me. I smiled despite myself, leaning against his shoulder.

"Holy shit" he said, not even bothering to censor himself in front of his child. If it hadn't been such weird circumstances I'd have scolded him, or mom would have, but she seemed about ready to say the exact same thing.

Dad leaned back a little, and then looked over his shoulder to Mom, "This doesn't count as like, teen pregnancy, right? Cause we didn't actually like, have her now… she's just, realistically from like seven years from now or something." He rambled, earning a muffled laugh from me, and a giggle I'd never heard come out of my mom before. It was the giggle that was reserved for teenage girls, I knew, because hers sounded exactly the same as mine did.

"No, Seaweed Brain, it definitely doesn't count as teen pregnancy if your teenage daughter who isn't born yet travels to the past and you meet her." Mom replied, rolling her eyes as dad slowly let go of me and stepped back.

Mom motioned for me to follow with them as she grabbed dad's hand and continued walking to wherever they'd been heading before. I matched their stride just as Annabeth asked, "So what's your name? We didn't actually get that part yet."

I smiled a little, before telling them. "Zoe Thalia Jackson, and yes, I'm named after who you think I'm named after."

My parents to be both got sad smiles at the mention, looking down a little.

"Trust me" I said, "You guys went pretty all out on namesakes."

They perked up, "We have other kids?" and I nodded, "One boy and one girl, I'm the oldest."

Annabeth bit her lip, struck with indecision, before finally giving in and asking what their names were.

I sighed, "Lucas Frederick and Bianca Sally."

To my surprise, dad let out a sigh of relief at this, "Thank gods we went with mortal parents for middle names, I mean, can you imagine the poor kid's whose middle name is Poseidon or Athena?"

Mom smiled slightly, shaking her head at dad's shameless grin.

It was only a few minutes until they stopped and lead me into an apartment building, heading up a few flights of stairs and unlocking one of the doors.

I was a little surprised at how modest and small the place was, because the house they owned, well, it was big, and beautifully made. I almost mentioned so, but figured the less I gave away about the future, the better, it might end up messing with their heads and changing things if they knew now.

We all just sat down in the living room, a little silent.

It was unnerving, because I'd never seen my parents being silent like this. Usually it was a comfortable silence and one of them would break it with conversation or a joke, but they both seemed deep in thought, and worried. A tense and unsure Percy Jackson was one version of my dad I thought I would never see, but here he was.

Finally, my mom revealed what was on their minds, "Are we, "she paused, hesitant and uncharacteristically shy, "Are we good parents?" she finished, looking up at me. Dad matched her gaze, looking at me with the same questioning expression.

I stared at them wide eyed in disbelief, "That's what you've been sitting here worrying about?" I asked incredulously, getting up, "You guys are the best parents. You always know how to handle anything the world can throw at us, whether it needs you to be angry at something or quiet and comforting. You've always been the two people I know I can go to for anything."

They both looked surprised, but also genuinely happy at hearing this, mom was almost holding back tears, as if she'd been fearing the chance of her being a horrible mother up until now. I beckoned for her to stand up and then gave her a hug, because she was my mom and for once, I was in a situation to pay her back for all the times she'd hugged me when I needed one.

Wrapping one arm tightly around her, I spoke lightly in her ear with a smile, "Don't worry, you're a mom of the likes of Grandma Sally."

This almost broke her dam, but she nodded ever so slightly, "I never really had a mom until I met Sally, anyways, so it's only fitting."

Dad let out a small chuckle, stretching his arms out and grinning so wide I just knew he was about to try and break the tension, "What? No hug for me?"

I grinned and gave him a hug, with mom joining in.

"There we go" he said, "This is a weird family reunion." Was added as an afterthought, and I snorted, "That's because most family reunions don't happen before the kid was actually born, dad"

Mom pulled away first, and I swear I saw her wipe away a tear when she thought we weren't looking.

"So, let's find a way to send you back home. I get the feeling we're going to be worried sick in about 22 years when our daughter disappears."

Dad just grinned, "Well, if we remember today by then, we'll probably just sit around casually and wait to hear a crazy story."

I smiled widely, being reminded of why I loved my parents so much. Now, to get back home…


	8. You Got Her

**A/N: Just giving some heads up that I'm a little more than halfway through Chapter 27 of Have a Goode Year, and hopefully I'll actually get my act together and finish it sometime this week. Here's hoping.**

**Alice**

As I was checking in on one of the newer arrivals, I heard him let out a long groan, and turned to face his bed. It seemed he was waking up, as he'd been out of it since he arrived here, carried by a few other boys with a group following worriedly. They hadn't been able to give any clue as to what had happened to him, saying that he'd gone out for a walk and not come back to their hotel, so they'd went looking for him, and found him in an alley nearby like this.

The group claimed to be vacationing here in Malta together, and had given names and numbers, but they visited every day anyways.

Back to the patient, he slowly squinted an eye open, "Where am I?" he croaked.

I patted the top of his hand lightly, "You're in a hospital, Mr. Valdez, your friends say that you went out from the hotel for a walk and never came back. They found you in an alley, and brought you straight here."

His face scrunched up in confusion, eyebrows tweaked up at the bridge of his nose, "Wait, what?" he said at last, "how…"

I quieted him, "You suffered a concussion and may have a few memories missing from the altercation, just relax." He seemed to let things go for the time being, and shifted in the bed slightly so he was sitting up a few inches more. "Are my friends here?" he asked me.

I smiled, "They've visited every day, it's still fairly early in the morning, but they should show up soon." He seemed to be put at ease by that, "I'm just going to go let the doctors know you're awake, and then I'll be back to check in on you, okay?"

He nodded distractedly, seeming to be getting lost in thought. Something I had to say was common for cases such as these, with memory loss.

I came back about ten minutes later, with some news for Mr. Valdez. He looked up the second I opened the door, looking a little crestfallen when he saw it was me, but also relieved.

"Oh, hi" he said quietly, fiddling with his hands.

"The doctor will be in later to check in on you and assess your condition" I informed him, giving a polite smile in reply to his greeting. He nodded, not seeming concerned about it. "Also, your friends arrived just a minute or two ago, they're on their way up now."

This got his attention, he perked up and his eyes widened marginally, glancing at the door fleetingly. A small smile crossed his features, the first I'd seen from him.

Not even a minute after this, one of his friends tumbled through the door. It was the very tan skinned one with eyes that seemed to be changing colours constantly. "Leo!" she exclaimed, making subtle effort not to say it too loudly, being aware that her friend had a concussion.

Leo grinned widely and lifted his arms up in a hugging gesture, "Beauty Queen!" he replied, with equal excitement. She laughed and moved forward, giving him a big hug like the ones my brother sometimes gave me. I stayed quiet, remaining at my post and letting him have his time with his friends. He'd obviously missed them dearly.

"You guys just had to bring me to a hospital, didn't you?" Leo said, in a mock scolding tone. His friend rolled her eyes, releasing him from the hug and standing up fully. "We didn't have a choice, we tried first aid, but nothing was working." Her words sounded a little forced, with a hidden meaning to them. Whether Leo understood or not was beyond me, but it wasn't my business.

"That's weird." He replied, sounding mystified.

"Annabeth and Percy both think it was because of where you were." The friend said, with an expectant tone now, the hidden meaning still there, by the sounds of it.

Leo stayed silent for a few moments, "Piper, did I – "his anxious voice was cut off by two more figures appearing in the doorway, they were brushing against one another and blocking the view behind them.

Leo's eyes focussed on them, "Percy, Annabeth!" he exclaimed, taking a very obvious stare at the boy, Percy, who had a knowing smile on his face.

"We brought you a recovery gift, Leo" Annabeth said, offering a small smile. Percy grinned wider, "Well, sort of."

Leo's demeanor changed, "Guys, you didn't have to – " his words died in his throat as Annabeth and Percy separated, revealing another girl, with Almond coloured eyes and long waving cinnamon hair, braided over one shoulder loosely. She was in a simple white shirt and jeans, smiling at Leo's expression.

"Calypso" he breathed, I swear I heard his heart monitor skip a beat or two. I even shifted to glance at it and make sure he hadn't flatlined.

The girl – Calypso, apparently – Smiled sweetly at him before walking into the room, right to the side of his bed, where the other girl, Piper, stepped aside.

Leo met her as close to halfway as he could, sitting up fully in his bed and leaning forward, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace that wasn't even remotely similar to the one he'd shared with the other girl earlier.

He held her tightly, and if I wasn't mistaken, was crying into her shoulder. Though she was crying as well, so it hadn't been commented on.

I noticed the others slowly shifting to the doorway, and got up from my stop, walking over to them and ushering the group outside, without much resistance. "Perhaps they need some privacy" I noted, getting some agreement from the group outside.

I noticed the other three friends were in the hall as well, they hadn't gone in yet.

The blond haired boy was grinning, "I bet his face was hilarious" he joked, eliciting chuckled from the others.

The other girl, Piper, nodded in confirmation, "The heart monitor actually stopped for a few seconds, It was so hard to keep from laughing" They moved to some of the benches along the walls near his door. I gave them all a polite smile, "Your friend Leo is in good enough condition that he can have visitors pretty much all day, so you can all stay here and go back in whenever him and your other friend are done with, well, whatever their little moment was."

The blonde haired girl nodded in thanks, "He hasn't seen her in quite a while, so we'll probably be waiting out here for at least twenty minutes."

The boy beside her, Percy, I remembered, smirked, "Leo might even try to convince her that he can just see us all tomorrow."

I laughed a little, before walking over to the reception desk to see where else I had to check in on patients. I got the feeling that Mr. Valdez was in good hands.


	9. Definitely not your Average Day

**AN: This is a continuation of Chapter 7, in a way. Using this and some other shorter things to get back into PJO/HOO writing to write some more of Have a Goode Year and such. Fell off the wagon with school and everything going on.**

**Steven**

"Don't do anything dumb, now, Stevie" I self-talked, probably looking like a complete idiot. Which I was, obviously. Standing at the doorstep of my friend, Zoe's house trying to get up the nerve to knock.

So maybe I totally liked Zoe, yea, but I'd heard from a few people in our grade that her parents were really intimidating. Zoe said they were great, but of course they'd be different with her, she was their daughter.

Being a guy coming over to a girl's house to visit was pretty nerve-wracking, as it turned out, but I steeled those nerves and knocked on the door, gluing my hands to my sides to keep from fidgeting.

The woman who answered the door, I could tell immediately, was Zoe's mom. They had the exact same unique grey eyes that you rarely saw on anyone else.

"Oh" she smiled at me, "You must be Steven, come on in!" she greeted kindly, making a little bit of the nerves wash away. Mom seemed not so bad. "Thank you Mrs. Jackson" I replied politely, to which she laughed a little, "I'm not quite sure where Zoe is, but she ought to be around here somewhere" she turned and called out to one of the other rooms, "Percy! Do you know where Zoe is?" I heard footsteps and gulped nervously, I knew that Percy was Zoe's dad's name. As I thought that, he appeared in the archway, eyebrows raised slightly. I saw that he was where she'd gotten her hair from, the midnight black shade. "Not since this morning, why?" he noticed me then, "Oh, whose this?" he asked his wife, she gave him a meaningful look, "This is Steven, Zoe invited him to hang out today."

He looked me up and down, and I felt like I was under a microscope while he did, his gaze was as intimidating as people had said it was, but then he let out a small smile. "Hope she doesn't get you into too much trouble at school." I blew out a sigh, "No sir, I was already getting into trouble before I met her." Maybe not the best admission to a parent, but Mr. Jackson just chuckled, "Maybe…" he mumbled, "Luke!"

I heard shuffling down the stairs after a second and then saw Zoe's little brother Luke come down the stairs, unlike Zoe, who'd gotten a mix, I could tell now that Luke had gotten more of his mother's attributes, having her hair and eyes, mainly. Bianca, the middle child of the three, had her dad's hair and eyes. "Yea dad?" he asked, noticing me and getting a devilish smirk on his face. My eyes widened in fear, Luke was a pretty diabolical kid, and he definitely had figured out that I liked his sister by now. _Please don't tell them that!_ I begged internally, eyes darting between his parents and him.

"Have you seen Zoe? Steven is here to hang out with her" his mom answered in Mr. Jackson's place, Luke shrugged, "Bianca had looked for her before she left, searched all over the place and didn't find her anywhere" he mentioned, "I haven't seen her either, it's weird." Zoe's dad scratched his head, "Did she look everywhere?" he questioned, earning a deadpan look from his son, "you know how thorough Bianca is, if she says she isn't here, she isn't here"

Mr and Mrs. Jackson looked at each other, something seeming to be clicking. "Today?" he asked, curious, and she smiled a little in return. Luke and I watched the interaction, equally perplexed.

"I think Zoe might be a little, uh, busy with something unexpected right now. She should be back…" Mrs. Jackson looked at the clock in the room, "Well probably less than half an hour."

I nodded my head, Mr. Jackson looked over at me, then at his son, "Luke, you know Steven, right?" Luke nodded, "Mind entertaining him for a while until your sister gets back?" It seemed to not really be a request as much as a command, but Luke's grin said that he was more than happy to comply. "Sure thing dad, I'd love to catch up with Stevie" Zoe's parents shrugged and headed into the other room again, leaving me alone with Luke.

"So, here to see Zoe, huh?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

I groaned, rolling my eyes, "Shut up, please." I glanced the way his parents had gone worriedly, but Luke laughed, "Calm down, Steve, I'm willing to bet both my parents know you have a crush on my sister just from meeting you." My eyes widened, but he put a hand up, "They don't care, man, if they did I would have brought it up for the reaction." He grinned, "You should have seen your face when I saw you though, I thought you were going to faint!"

"Imagine how much worse it'd have been if Zoe was here?" he continued, "You two would have been all shy and blushy like you are at school now." Luke laughed, probably imagining it in his head, "Oh man, were you expecting my parents to stab you or something?"

I shook my head, "No, just, didn't think they'd be so nice." He smirked and winked mockingly at me, "Where do you think my _dearest_ sister got her personality from?" I blushed involuntary, which was exactly what Luke was going for, of course.

"Lucas!" a new voice shouted from the other room, where his parents were, "Stop teasing the boy!" I saw Luke cringe a little, and smirked. Serves him right. "Who was that?" I asked him.

He poked at his ear as if making sure it was still working, "My Aunt Piper, she's great and all, but when she tells you to do something, you do it." We went into the other room and talked some more, about other things. Luke was 14, only a three year difference from me and Zoe, so we went to the same school and knew most of the others friends through Zoe, and we got along alright.

We kept talking until we heard a familiar voice from the other room, "Oh my gods! Mom! Dad!"

Both of our heads shot up, wondering where Zoe had been, as that had definitely been her and she sounded a little frantic.

We got up and headed into the other room, coming to face with Zoe, her parents and another woman I guessed was their Aunt Piper. Zoe was gesturing wildly to her amused looking parents, "And they said it was twenty seventeen and – "

"Zoe we know!" her mom interrupted, grinning.

Zoe froze midsentence, turning to her mom, "Wha- you knew?"

"Of course we knew, it happened, remember?" her dad said, and then noticing me and Luke in the doorway, he coughed, glancing at his wife.

Mrs. Jackson took his prompt and saw us as well, "We can talk about it later Zoe, for now, you have a friend here to see you.

Zoe looked confused until her eyes settled on me, and she blushed a deep red of embarrassment. "Uh, right, um hey Steve."

I smiled, "You okay?"

She pushed all of her hair out of her face quickly, face starting to return to a more normal colour, "Yea, just having an odd day, is all." She took a cautious look at her parents, one of whom, her dad, was stifling his laughter at her. Their Aunt Piper was looking at me with a knowing grin, motioning her eyes subtly at Zoe, making my cheeks tint pink.

"Come on" she muttered, walking over to me, grabbing my hand, and dragging me out of the room towards the stairs, I probably turned as red as she was as I was pulled away.

As we went up the steps, I heard her parents through the wall, "He probably thinks she's a weirdo now" Mr. Jackson claimed, to which Mrs. Jackson laughed, "She's your daughter, Percy, he probably figured out how weird she is already."

I heard Zoe sigh with annoyance, "Parents" she muttered, reaching the top of the stairs. She was smiling though, so she obviously still loved them all the same as she'd made it sound before.


	10. Don't look Down

**AN: Another one of these? Meanwhile, none of you want these but actually want a chapter of the actual story. That's okay though, I'm evil. :D**

**Walter**

Working my current job was something special, we always got the most interesting clients coming in.

Then again, people tended to get a lot more drastic right before we made them jump out of the plane.

"Alright" I shouted, to be heard over the engines. "Which one of you is the one going without an instructor?" I asked.

The blonde haired one raised his hand, grinning wildly. "I'm pretty experienced with the whole falling from the sky thing."

The guy beside him snickered, teetering nervously in his seat, but he said nothing to indicate he wanted out. "I'm going alone as well, I've done this a few times myself" he chuckled. The girl that was on the blonde's other side however, was gripping the seat viciously with her hands. "Is she alright?" I asked, pointing her out. "If you don't want to do this, you don't have to."

Her eyes flickered to me, full of fear, but narrowing as if I'd meant it as a challenge. "I'm doing it. Otherwise I'll never hear the end of it from these idiots."

The boy with the green eyes chuckled, "Oh come on Thals, I'm doing it, and we both know how it looks if me of all people will jump out of this plane and you won't." The other boy grinned, "I'll be right there with you, nothing to worry about." He told her, reassuringly.

She sighed, "You know if I die, Artemis is going to murder both of you, right?"

Blondie grinned again, "Ah come on, sis, you won't die."

Green eyes took the time to interject, "Maybe just become horribly disfigured, but hey, we can all chill in side by side hospital beds."

I chuckled at their banter, "Alright, so, You," I pointed at the blonde, "Jason" he supplied, smirking, "Jason, will be going solo." I then pointed at the other boy, "And you'll be doing the same?" He nodded, "Percy" he added, grinning nervously.

"Thalia" the girl interjected as I turned to face her, before I even began, I smiled. "Yes, Thalia you'll be going with me, so I'll make sure you make it to the ground in one piece." She stared me down for a nervous moment before grumbling, "Better be a nice looking piece" and getting up to get strapped up.

I saw that the two boys had helped each other getting their chutes on and were standing ready, Percy leaning near the exit door, watching Thalia's discomfort with amusement.

I smile at the two, tightening a few of the straps on my own chute and the harnesses connecting me to Thalia, "So you two like jumping out of planes, I take it?" I prompted, to keep a conversation going. It was a good way to keep everyone's nerves down, which I had figured the girl, Thalia needed.

They grinned widely at one another, "Oh yea," Jason began, "We do loads of stupid and dangerous stuff."

Percy smirked, "Definitely, ever tried to ride a seal?" he asked, I shook my head. "Don't" he then suggested, "They're slippery as heck. Did that in San Francisco."

Thalia shook her head from in front of me, "True story, I was there to see it." She muttered, "You smelled weird for the rest of that trip, too."

Percy's face contorted into one of insult, "I blame you guys for that, not the seal." His expression turned a little mischievous, "Say wasn't that the same trip that I found out about your little fear of heights? At Hoover Dam?"

I would bet she scowled at him, "That dam trip was eventful." She said, breaking out into sudden giggles. Percy was laughing along. I looked over at the other one, Jason, but he looked similarly lost.

"Alright" I broke in, "What order do you three want to do this?"

Percy stood up a little straighter, "Oh, definitely first, I want to be able to look up at her face on the way down."

Thalia didn't speak up, but Jason shrugged, "I'll go last just to make sure Thalia comes along, if that's alright"

Normally we weren't supposed to let a solo go last, but Jason seemed eerily calm about the situation, like one of us employees, I glanced at my partner and he shrugged. Taking it as a yes, I nodded at Jason, "We'll go second then."

My partner opened the door and stood by it, ready to aid us out the door. Percy got there first, preparing him to let off, and he grinned back when he was ready, "See you at the bottom, Pinecone Face"

With that, he let go and went into a freefall, turning to face up almost instantly.

I motioned Thalia to step up to the door, and she reluctantly did so.

"Don't think about it Thals, just go" Jason suggested from behind us, giving her a thumbs up.

Thalia just rolled her eyes, "Shut up Jase, I'm going no matter what so I can punch Kelp Head in the nose when we get to him."

I stepped in, "Maybe keep that until we reach the ground, hmm? Once you're out of the harness I'm not responsible."

Thalia smirked, Jason laughing behind me. "Deal" she said, "Just make sure we land close to him."

I got to the door, ready to go, and before we let go, I heard Jason shout for her to keep her eyes open.

On the way down, we went quickly in order to catch up to Percy. I took a glance up and saw Jason on his way down behind us, closing in.

Percy grinned widely up at us when we were close enough to see his face, he gave two big thumbs up to Thalia, which she responded to by giving him the bird.

Jason proved to be much more than adept at skydiving. He was doing acrobatics around us, earning laughs that were lost in the wind.

He stopped for a moment, falling feet first, and gestured a tumbling motion to me with his fingers. I nodded and gripped the harness, using my weight to send myself and Thalia into a small backflip in the air. She shrieked, but didn't sound scared anymore.

Nearing the ground, I motioned to Jason and Percy for them to pull their parachutes, before doing so with mine. It expanded and caught the wind, slowing our descent to a glide down to the earth.

Once we'd landed, I undid all the straps on the harness and shook it off of us, freeing Thalia to step away, which she did, immediately running over and punching Percy, as promised.

"Ow!" he cried, holding his nose and glaring at Thalia with irritation. "Why?" She just smiled innocently at him.

"So what relation are you guys to one another, exactly?" I muttered, watching the events unfold between the two.

Jason had come to stand beside me, not even attempting to stop their argument. "Thalia's my sister, Percy's our cousin."

"Feisty family"

He grinned, "We get it from our dads, they all hate each other."

"Luckily," he pointed out, "We're just, competitive, lots of fighting but not many real arguments."

"I pity anyone who marries into your family, no offense." I joked.

Jason just took it in stride, "Just gotta be tough to make it in, Percy's girlfriend can beat him up, mine's inhumanly persuasive."

"What about your sister?" I asked, slightly curious. Jason looked at me for a moment and shook his head, "Doesn't date, usually breaks the arms of anyone who asks her out."

"Well, at least it seems your goal in coming here went well." I directed, "She was laughing most of the fall."

"Yea." His reply seemed distracted, "I don't think she'll want to do it again, though."


End file.
